Pacific Health to 'suspend' services at Tustin hospital

Financially troubled Pacific Health Corp., which announced last week it was closing Anaheim General Hospital, said Tuesday it will discontinue operations at the other three hospitals it owns, including Newport Specialty Hospital, a 177-bed long-term care facility in Tustin.

The company, which is based in Tustin, said it had "taken the difficult decision to suspend services at all three of its remaining hospitals as we work to resolve the legacy issues facing our company."

Those issues include a $16.5 million settlement Pacific Health reached with the federal government in August 2012 after admitting it had recruited homeless people from Skid Row in Los Angeles to undergo unnecessary medical procedures that were billed to Medicare and Medi-Cal.

Pacific Health said it would "suspend" emergency room services at all three hospitals as of Wednesday. The other two hospitals being shut down are Bellflower Medical Center, with 142 beds, and Los Angeles Metropolitan Medical Center, with 212 beds.

The company on Tuesday asked the state Department of Public Health via email for permission to close the three hospitals on or before May 2, department spokesman Corey Egel said.

Newport Specialty provides care for both adults and children, some of whom have severely debilitating conditions such as brain and spinal-cord injuries, respiratory failure and congenital disabilities.

"We are committed to preserving safe continuity of care for the community and will maintain professional, medical and nursing staff on site during this transition period to facilitate the movement of patients to other local healthcare facilities," Pacific Health said.

In last year's settlement, prosecutors said Pacific Health admitted that from 2003 to 2008 three of its hospitals paid more than $2.3 million in kickbacks to recruiters who sent homeless men and women to fill beds. Medicare and Medi-Cal paid nearly $16 million for their treatment. Two of the hospitals involved in that scheme were Anaheim General and Newport Specialty, which at the time was called Tustin Hospital and Medical Center.

Last month, the Department of Labor Relations fined Pacific Health $524,300 for late payment and payment of wages with insufficient funds. It also imposed a $6.5 million penalty on the company for failing to provide complete and accurate itemized wage statements to employees.

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